Carter Toms, of Shreveport, during the opening round of the David Toms Foundation Shreveport Junior at Southern Trace Country Club.

Attention Ryan Braun, Lance Armstrong, Alex Rodriguez: You may have millions upon millions of dollars, but a 15-year-old from Shreveport has you beat on integrity.

Tuesday was to be the beginning of a special 72 hours for Byrd golfer Carter Toms. Just days before his 16th birthday, he had a group of buddies roaming the fairways, following his play at an AJGA event his father, PGA Tour star David Toms, hosts and helped bring to town. In addition to friends and family, Carter's girlfriend was also in his gallery - for the first time.

That's a big deal for a soon-to-be high school sophomore.

The pressure was likely great, and it showed early as Toms made a string of bogeys early in the opening round at Southern Trace Country Club.

While standing on the 16th green (he started on the back nine), the bogeys suddenly weren't his biggest problem. When Toms marked his ball on the putting surface, he realized there was not a small dot on his Titleist.

There was supposed to be a dot. The ball he'd been playing had a dot.

In just a matter of seconds, after rummaging quickly through his golf bag, a whirlwind of emotions likely hit the kid.

I can only guess he was scared, mad, embarrassed and stunned. What I know is that he was honest.

Despite all of the hoopla mentioned above, Toms quickly determined he'd played the wrong ball on the 15th hole.

Although the closest rules official didn't immediately know the rule, Toms knew his fate - a pair of letters even more nightmarish to golfers than OB.

DQ.

Disqualification.

Toms' head sunk, but he shook the hands of his playing companions and wished them luck. And then he had to face his Dad, mother Sonya and the brigade of fans.

Of all the tournaments!

To make matters worse, David had urged his son to mark his balls the night before the event. However, the Toms' house was a zoo, and as most 15-year-olds would do, Carter chose his visiting friends over prep work.

But the circumstances make Carter's admission even more impressive. First off, no one would have ever known the wrong ball was played. He could have just carried on. And cheating wouldn't have necessarily been the biggest motivator in regards to staying quiet.

At 15, the last thing I wanted to do - especially on the golf course - was feel like I disappointed my father. He was my biggest fan. When I was 15, I cannot tell you I would have done the right thing for that fear alone.

But Carter stepped up, even though he knew he'd take some heat and that the gaffe would probably make its way to the newspaper and social media.

It got the attention of PGA Tour star Rickie Fowler on Tuesday. He tweeted: "Uh Oh now you have all the boys riding you! Guess you know now - tough way to figure that one out."

Although disappointed, David Toms was full of pride first and foremost.

"I was proud of him for reacting to it the way he did while it was going on and after the situation was over," David said. "I said to him, and he was hanging his head pretty low, 'The first thing I want to tell you is I'm proud of you for doing what you did, for being honest, for having the integrity to call it on yourself when you realized what happened.'"

Then dad reminded son that successful golf isn't simply about standing on the first tee and ripping a driver down the middle of the fairway.

"It's not always about how many putts you hit, how many chips you hit, how many balls you hit on the range - sometimes it's about your preparation and being ready to perform," David said. "Would Michael Jordan ever have gone on the court without tying his shoes? There are a lot of things that go into playing a round of golf. It's a hard game, so you have to give yourself the best chance."

Although Carter's decision is surely reflective of Carter's makeup, and the job David and Sonya have done, David chose to say it speaks volumes of this great game.

"It's the mature and the right thing to do, but that's our game in general," he said. "Most people, you hope, would do the same thing."

In the end, Carter wasn't the only one to learn a lesson. Thursday, many of the 95 other male and female competitors were around to watch David award the championship trophy to winners Nathan Jeansonne of Shreveport, and Thailand's Kesaree Rojanapeansatith - but not before handing out a bit of advice.

As it turned out, Carter's buddy Christian DiMarco, son of PGA Tour player Chris, was also disqualified (for signing the wrong scorecard).

"As you all know by now, it was an interesting week in my house," David Toms said as the kids chuckled. "Let that be a lesson to you. Everything you do before and after a round is just as important as that first drive of the day."

But the lesson didn't just come from the veteran Toms, a 13-time winner on the PGA Tour with a spotless reputation. The competitors learned plenty from their contemporary. No matter the situation, the truth is the right choice.

"I feel for him because I feel like his golf game is getting better and better and he's capable of shooting some really good scores when he's playing his best," David said. "Hopefully he'll grow and get better.

"Certainly there is an added pressure for him to perform and act right and everything at this event - not that he doesn't all the time, but it shows you how in golf how you can get ahead of yourself sometimes. You let factors outside the fairways maybe dictate the decisions you make in a round of golf. You get distracted by movement of people and carts. You start thinking about what you're going to shoot; what Roy Lang's going to write about me if I should 85 or 65 - that's a lot of pressure for kids."

While big-name adult athletes continue to waive their integrity and cheat to combat pressure and acquire the almighty dollar, folks like Carter Toms remind us what true achievement is all about.